the blog

It’s true! Science has shown us that money, or more precisely how we spend our money, does make us happier. I just finished reading Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, and highly recommend it (it’s a quick read).

It will make you ask the question: Am I getting the biggest happiness bang for my buck?

Here are the five lessons of the book:

Choose experiences over stuff - This one might be obvious to people paying attention to spending studies but the lesson here is that experiences do generate more happiness than similar spending on physical goods.

Make it a treat - Buying experiences and physical goods loses its impact the more frequently we buy them. If you love lattes, it will make you less happy having one everyday than once a week.

Buy time - When you're about to buy something next time ask, "how will this affect how I use my time?" or "Will this affect my Tuesdays?". Spend money on freeing your time, but also keep it practical. When we think too far out in the future we don't take into account the realities of our day to day.

Pay now, consume later - Reduce the pain of buying by separating the spending experience from the consumption BUT unlike credit cards that create pain (and interest) after the fact, do the opposite and spend cash early to anticipate the consumption to come.

Invest in others - as a fundraiser and father I loved reading this - we get more joy on spending time and money on other people. Increasing your charitable giving will make you feel wealthier and volunteering will make you feel more time-free.

This book is useful both on a personal and professional level. Go and buy it on Amazon now and start reaping the rewards from the lessons today. ​